INERTIA: A Therapist's Thoughts

Many runners get the doldrums this time of year because they can't stand running on a treadmill for longer than 10 minutes due to boredom, redundancy or the fear of falling off! That makes winter a perfect time to mix in some cross training. Cross training provides benefits because it forces you to use muscles in a different way. Simple examples of cross training are biking/spinning, elliptical, swimming or stair stepping.

If you want something a bit more exciting, I would suggest taking an interval class at your local health club. Interval classes incorporate aerobic exercises along with strength exercises designed to keep your heart rate elevated and your body guessing. A common component of interval classes are plyometric exercises which challenge the muscles to contract quickly both during the shortening and lengthening of the muscle. This provides a great workout with strength benefit and better muscle response time.

Another option is incorporating lateral or side-to-side movement activities into your workout. Running is a straight-ahead, single-plane activity. Always working in one plane of movement can lead to breakdown, injury and weaknesses in other muscle groups like the gluteals and hip adductors.

If you have additional questions or comments, drop me a line.